Supervisors Consider Cap on Food Delivery Service Fees
January 26, 2021 at 7:58 pm
During the meeting of the San Joaquin County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday, the board discussed a temporary countywide ordinance regulating third-party food delivery services such as Doordash and Uber Eats. The ordinance would have capped delivery fees at 15% and pickup fees at 10%, while prohibiting the services from reducing driver pay as a result. Services would have also been required to provide customers with an itemized list of fees and charges.
The use of such platforms has rapidly expanded during the pandemic, as in-restaurant dining has been limited due to COVID-19 restrictions. However, services also usually collect 15% to 30% of an order in fees, reducing the bottom line of already-struggling businesses. Many major cities, including San Francisco and Los Angeles, have established ordinances limiting delivery fees since the beginning of the pandemic.
The board elected to have a similar ordinance brought before them at a future meeting. A draft of an ordinance was included with the board’s agenda packet, but County Counsel J. Mark Myles said that it still needed to be revised and publicly posted before it could be adopted.
Supervisor Kathy Miller also requested that a 30-day review be added to the ordinance to assess any adverse effects from its implementation, such as a significant reduction in the availability of delivery services or a price increase for consumers.
